Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 9 May 2026
Noteworthy this week
- Taiwan and Korea add US$4.6 trillion in AI surge
- Anthropic’s pre-IPO valuation hits US$1.2 trillion
- The airline industry hits a fuel wall
- Oil inventories heading for operational stress
- Nonmonetary gold is surging as America’s top export
Taiwan and Korea add US$4.6 trillion in AI surge: Collectively, the two markets have added US$4.6 trillion in market value over the last 12 months.
Markets in Taiwan and South Korea are making history:
The total market cap of Taiwan’s stock market is up to a record $4.5 trillion, surpassing Canada’s $4.4 trillion for the first time.
Taiwan’s stock market value has also exceeded that of the UK for the first time 2 weeks… pic.twitter.com/JoKNcpziW6
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 4, 2026
Anthropic’s pre-IPO valuation hits US$1.2 trillion: Onchain trading data implies a 900% rise since October 2025, making Anthropic around 20% larger than OpenAI’s implied valuation.
BREAKING: Anthropic’s pre-IPO valuation surges to a record $1.2 trillion, rising another +20% in 7 days.
This officially puts Anthropic’s implied valuation up +900% since October 2025, per onchain pre-IPO trading data.
Pre-IPO instruments trading onchain on Jupiter, backed 1:1… pic.twitter.com/l9vus00cne
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 6, 2026
The airline industry hits a fuel wall: Global carriers have cut 2 million seats and 12,000 flights from May schedules as jet fuel rationing spreads ahead of the summer travel season.
Airlines have never before planned around fuel availability – only price.
That changed this week.
Global airlines cut 2 million seats from May schedules in the past two weeks alone.
Lufthansa cancelled 20,000 flights through October. Singapore and Tokyo asked carriers not to… pic.twitter.com/vwwcr87b8U
— Nic (@nicrypto) May 4, 2026
Oil inventories heading for operational stress: Despite starting 2026 with 8.4 billion barrels in storage, JPMorgan estimates only 800 million are realistically available, and 280 million have already been drawn.
JPM says we’ll hit “operational stress” on oil inventories in mid-June:
The year began with oil inventories in relatively strong shape… the world began 2026 with a healthy 8.4bn barrels in storage (chart below – one of the highest levels in 10 years).
But not every barrel is… pic.twitter.com/RY3AWFAkrf
— Neil Sethi (@neilksethi) May 5, 2026
Nonmonetary gold is surging as America’s top export: It has been the single largest driver of US export growth in recent months, outpacing oil, pharmaceuticals, and aircraft engines. The primary destinations are China and Switzerland.
For the 5th month in the last 6, “Nonmonetary Gold” was again the single biggest export of the US in March.
US gold exports were 1.7x > oil; 2x > than Rx preparations, 2.5x > aircraft engines.
Biggest destination for US gold exports: China or Switzerland (& then on to China). pic.twitter.com/NoLcpIw5R6
— Luke Gromen (@LukeGromen) May 5, 2026
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Podcasts we listened to this week
IBKR Podcasts | Is tokenization the next big macro shift?
“Michael Normyle from Nasdaq joins us to explore how tokenization is transforming collateral, liquidity and the speed of modern markets.”
Readings this week
The Curious Mind | Why Elon Musk imported a power plant
“Energy is the binding constraint of the AI buildout.” A deep dive into why hyperscalers are importing power plants, restarting nuclear reactors, and signing long-term energy deals to keep the AI buildout on track.
Memes of the week
This is fine 👍 pic.twitter.com/btZKHkQt8l
— Declaration of Memes (@LibertyCappy) May 6, 2026
— Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) May 6, 2026
Published on Become a Better Investor this week
What if your sales problem isn’t your people — but the system they’re stuck in? In this episode, they walk through what changed, what didn’t work at first, and why the biggest shift wasn’t the system — it was the psychology. If you’ve ever felt stuck trying to fix your salespeople, this will change how you think about it.”
Listen to Why Commissions Didn’t Fix Our Sales Problem
BlueVenture Group Public Company Limited (BVG TB): Profitable Growth rank of 4 was down compared to the prior period’s 3rd rank. This is above average performance compared to 750 small Info Tech companies worldwide.
Read BlueVenture Group – World Class Benchmarking
TEAM Consulting Engineering and Management Public Company Limited (TEAMG TB): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was up compared to the prior period’s 4th rank. This is above average performance compared to 830 small Industrials companies worldwide.
Read TEAM Consulting Engineering and Management – World Class Benchmarking
Bound and Beyond Public Company Limited (BEYOND TB): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was down compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is above average performance compared to 760 small Cons. Disc. companies worldwide.
Read Bound and Beyond – World Class Benchmarking
DTC Enterprise Public Company Limited (DTCENT TB): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was down compared to the prior period’s 3rd rank. This is average performance compared to 750 small Info Tech companies worldwide.
Read DTC Enterprise – World Class Benchmarking
DISCLAIMER: This content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Readers should not consider statements made by the author(s) as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The author(s) cannot be held liable for any actions taken as a result of reading this article.